1. Richard Sherman made a marvelously athletic, immaculately timed play to save Seattle’s 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC Championship game that instantly is labeled a “classic” and sends the Seahawks to the first and maybe only Super Bowl that will take place in the New York mega-media market. Seconds later, Sherman stalked Michael Crabtree, the 49ers receiver against whom he made the play, and chose probably an inappropriate time (he’d just, for all purposes, ended Crabtree’s season) to, he claims, try to shake the guy’s hand.

The Seahawks have, in the eyes of many, navigated half of an expectant season to a glass half empty. They once stood, after all, at a replacement-ref-inflated 4-2. So reaching the NFL’s midseason with a 4-4 record means the Seahawks have stumbled of late.

Still, the very word that explains the tidal inconsistencies of the first eight games is the same that should inspire optimism for the final eight: Yutes.

Not to go all My Cousin Vinny on everyone (though George Costanza isn’t the only dude with a thing for Marisa Tomei), but what people outside of Jersey refer to as “youth” is an additive, to a sports team, tantamount to chili flakes. Sprinkle in just the right amount, and you get a kick. Too much, and you can get burned.[Read more…]